An FIR was filed in the Mahadev app case against former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel

In the online Mahadev App betting fraud case, the Chhattisgarh police on Sunday filed a formal complaint against former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel. Despite having been filed on March 4, the FIR was only made public on Sunday, the day after the announcement of the Lok Sabha election dates. In the Rajnandgaon constituency, where voting is scheduled on April 26, Baghel is the Congress candidate.

“Under duress, my name and others have been purposefully added to a political false complaint,” Baghel said.

“Why was the copy of the FIR issued and published from Delhi on Sunday, March 17, even though the case was lodged in Raipur on March 4? FIRs are often uploaded to the internet the same day by the police station or EOW. “Chhattisgarh (during the Congress regime) has taken the maximum action against Mahadev App,” he said, adding that the onus should be on the Centre to secure the extradition of the main culprit to India.

According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation, top officials and bureaucrats allegedly helped the Mahadev App facilitate unlawful betting in reciprocity in exchange for “protection money.”

The name of Baghel was prominently included in the supplemental chargesheet of the ED submitted early this year before the Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Raipur, in relation to the App betting scam, which is estimated to have involved over Rs 6,000 crore.